1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to door locks, and more specifically, to a door locking mechanism that will keep the cargo door of a trailer locked in a plurality of partially open positions as well as a fully open position and when released, will allow the cargo door to easily close.
2. Background of the Invention
Trailers will generally have two rear doors for loading and unloading contents into and out of the trailer. The trailer may further have one or more side doors for the same reason as stated above. Many times when loading or unloading the trailer, the door will close on the person loading/unloading the truck. The door will close due to the wind blowing the door close, the truck being parked at an angle causing the doors to shut, or for other similar reasons. The door closing may cause severe injury to the person. The injuries may include broken bones, concussions, and lacerations.
Trailer owners may also want to keep the doors partially open for other reasons. For example, when the trailer is not in use, the owner may want to keep the doors partially open for ventilation so that a must odor does not build up inside the trailer.
Presently, there are devices for keeping the doors of the trailer open. Most of the devices require one to physically latch the door to the side of the trailer in a fully open position. While these latches do work, many people do not use them since they are inconvenient to use. Many individuals don""t want to spend the extra time to latch the door to the side of the trailer.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a door locking mechanism for trailer doors. The door locking mechanism will allow one to lock the trailer doors opened in a plurality of partially open positions, as well as a fully open position. The door locking mechanism will prevent injuries whereby the doors of the trailer inadvertently close on individuals hitting them in the head and/or body. The door locking mechanism will further allow one to easily close the cargo door by unlocking the door locking mechanism.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a door locking mechanism for trailer doors.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a door locking mechanism which will allow one to lock the trailer doors open in a plurality of partially open positions, as well as a fully open position.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a door locking mechanism that will allow one to lock the trailer doors open in a plurality of partially open positions, as well as a fully open position but will also allow one to easily close the trailer doors with the door locking mechanism is released.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a door locking mechanism that will prevent injuries whereby the doors of the trailer inadvertently close on individuals hitting them in the head and/or body.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a device for locking a trailer door in a plurality of different opened positions is disclosed. The device has a plurality of hinges for coupling the door to a frame of the trailer. A torsion bar is coupled to each of the plurality of hinges and to the frame. A rachet mechanism is coupled to the torsion bar which allows the torsion bar to rotate in one direction and in incremental movements thereby allowing one to open and lock the door in a plurality of different positions.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing a device for locking a trailer door in a plurality of different opened positions is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: providing a plurality of hinges for coupling the door to a frame of the trailer; providing a torsion bar coupled to each of the plurality of hinges and to the frame; and providing a rachet mechanism coupled to the torsion bar which allows the torsion bar to rotate in one direction and in incremental movements thereby allowing one to open and lock the door in a plurality of different positions.